Colorado’s “Got Insurance?” was recognized as the best advocacy campain by the public relations trade publication Ragan’s PR Daily.

A Colorado campaign aimed at making health insurance hip to young people and women rolled out the message online better than anyone, and that’s why the publicity push by the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and the liberal powerhouse ProgressNow Colorado was chosen as the best cause campaign in the country in PR Daily’s Social Media Awards for its “Got Insurance?” pitch for the Affordable Care Act.

Ragan’s PR Daily, the public relations trade publication behind the award, said the campaign was “simplicity itself” with “edgy content,” built on a satirical website. http://doyougotinsurance.com/.

With the help of press releases and partnerships, the campaign got publicity from Buzzfeed. Slate, Mother Jones and some other national outlets, qualifying it to be called viral, according to PR Daily. Other states are trying the same thing, based on the Colorado campaign’s success, the site reported.

The schedule for the anti-left political documentary “Rocky Mountain Heist” will make its TV debut Saturday, the producers, Citizens United, said today.

And just about the same time the schedule was announced for the one-hour movie, ProgressNow Colorado, one of the groups that has moved the state to the left, put out a 30-second video reply called “Don’t Be Fooled,” aimed at Citizens United, the conservative organization behind “Rocky Mountain Heist.” ProgressNow also created a website, http://dontbefooledcolorado.org/.

Elena Nunez, the executive director of voting rights and public integrity-focused nonprofit Colorado Common Cause, and Amy Runyon-Harms, executive director of ProgressNow Colorado, cited Amendment 65, which Colorado voters passed with a 74 percent majority two years ago.

Though it lacks legal authority, the ballot measure instructed the state’s congressional delegation to push an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would reverse the 2010 U.S. Supreme Court Citizens United decision that removed political spending limits from corporations and unions.

Bill Maher, ‘liberal political satirist, host of “Real Time with Bill Maher.” (Photo by Sam Jones)

Those zany liberals at ProgressNow Colorado have come up with 11 reasons why Bill Maher should choose Colorado’s 6th Congressional District as a district to flip and kick out the incumbent, Republican Rep. Mike Coffman.

“No game can hide this: In 2013 we saw that Senator Udall voted in line with President Obama’s positions 99 percent of the time,” he said. “A news outlet yesterday reported that Sen. Udall was avoiding reporters in Washington, but I know that Congressman Gardner is ready to share his ideas for putting us back on the right track with all of Colorado.”

Rocky the Lepreshaun, left, and Denver Broncos fans cheer at the United in Orange pep rally at Mile High stadium one week ago. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)

When Republican Gov. Bill Owens in 2002 outlined the reasons his Democratic opponent didn’t deserve to be elected governor, this made the list: “He held a press conference during the Broncos-Patriots game.”

I bring up this gem because Gun Rights Across America is scheduled to hold a 50-state event Sunday that includes a rally in Denver from noon to 2 p.m. on the west steps of the state Capitol. The playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots begins a few blocks west at 1 p.m.

Among those listed as participants at the gun rally: Republicans Greg Brophy and Tom Tancredo, who are trying to unseat Gov. John Hickenlooper, and Republicans Ken Buck and Owen Hill, vying to defeat U.S. Sen. Mark Udall.

The liberal organization ProgressNow Colorado never would be mistaken for members of the Scott Gessler fan club. But in advance of a Monday hearing, the group is ramping up its criticism of the Republican secretary of state, calling him “the most partisan secretary in Colorado’s modern history.”

The group also relaunched its “Gessler Watch” project, a website that compiles news stories, blog items and video clips of the former Republican elections attorney.

Gessler has deflected the criticism with such conviction that the capitol press corps dubbed him the “honey badger” (after this You Tube video) – a nickname he embraces. He also insists that his critics are simply upset because he is shaking up the status quo.

Colorado’s state House and Senate Republicans heard this week from an official with a conservative group that has has been under fire from critics who say it lets big corporations write legislative policies.

“We’ve been around for 40 years and somehow they’ve just uncovered the boogeyman,” Williams said. “The ALEC the left is attacking is not the ALEC I belonging to.”

But he said he thought it was a good thing that ALEC is returning to its original mission, which was intended to bring conservative economic policies to state and local governments. ALEC recently disbanded its Public Safety and Elections Task Force, a group whose gun legislation has been in the public eye since the shooting of Trayvon Martin in Florida.

Under Romney, funding for higher education fell while tuition at the University of Massachusetts “skyrocketed,” said Joanne Kron, executive director of ProgressNow.

Romney’s presidential campaign today hosted a telephone news conference featuring former University of Colorado President Hank Brown, a Republican who gave Obama an “F.” The president is speaking at the University of Colorado today.

“Obamacare” is typically the put-down conservatives use to describe the Affordable Care Act signed into law by the president in 2010, and the moniker offends some people who favor the measure.

But liberal groups in Colorado are now embracing the term, effectively saying conservatives may have shot themselves in the foot by making the health care reform law synonymous with President Obama’s tenure in office.

The Colorado Consumer Health Initiative and ProgressNow Colorado Education today said they are launching a “Thanks Obamacare!” campaign to highlight the benefits of the Affordable Care Act, such as barring insurance companies from not covering people with pre-existing conditions, allowing people under 26 to stay on their parents’ insurance policies and barring lifetime limits on insurance care.

Say what you will about Jon Caldara, and plenty of people do, but the think-tank president writes a hilarious newsletter. Today’s gem:

Our senior fellow and father of term limits here in Colorado, Dennis Polhill, just celebrated his 65th birthday. He says he feels as young as ever, and is still madly in love with his wife of all these years. In fact he says, sometimes he still tears up when they make love. She says it’s likely just the Mace.

Piece of cake.

Polhill hadn’t seen the item from the Independence Institute president when I called. It took him a while to stop laughing after I read it to him.

“The sad part is it’s all true,” Polhill said.

Polhill turned 65 on Monday, a birthday he shares with ProgressNow’s Alan Franklin, a “delicious” irony, as Mark Hillman would say. So is Polhill finally collecting Social Security? It turns out he’s been getting a check from the government since he was 62. Entitlement program, indeed.

Lynn Bartels thinks politics is like sports but without the big salaries and protective cups. The Washington Post's "The Fix" blog has named her one of Colorado's best political reporters and tweeters.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.